Let us remember the time…
As much as I enjoy observing the liturgical year, I confess that by the time Pentecost rolls around, I heave a sigh of relief. Ordinary time has arrived at last! A season of rest and quiet growth and affirming the dignity of simply carrying out our daily callings with faithfulness. (I've also definitely hit my annual quota for making seasonal paper chain countdowns by this time…)
While there are many beautiful layers to calling this season “Ordinary,”
I've also reflected lately (with frustration) upon the ordinariness of sin, pain, and sadness. The world is broken and we cannot escape it- we see it in the physical limitations and infirmities of friends and family and self, in the barrage of the news, in our own souls and relationships.
And I remember… Ordinary Time is just a fancy name for this second Advent that we perpetually inhabit.
Like God's people before the arrival of Jesus, Christians have long recognized that we, too, exist in a time of waiting for the coming of our messiah. Restoration has begun, but it is not yet complete.
If you, too, find yourself asking, “How long, O Lord?” then I invite you to fix your eyes on Jesus and continue being faithful in the ordinary - in the experiences of joy and sorrow, of virtue and vice - as we wait with patience for Christ's fully realized reign to begin.
